Banning loot boxes for minors: A public health framework and the case of Brazil

Spritzer, Daniel Tornaim and Fortim, Ivelise and Roza, Thiago Henrique and Kessler, Felix Henrique Paim and Kim, Hyoun S (2026) Banning loot boxes for minors: A public health framework and the case of Brazil. JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS, 15 (1). pp. 5-7. ISSN 2062-5871

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Abstract

Brazil's Digital Child and Adolescent Act (2025) prohibits paid loot boxes in games accessible to minors under a public health and child-rights framework, regardless of whether they should be classified as gambling. The law focuses on psychological mechanisms underlying harm, including variable-ratio reinforcement and reward uncertainty, to which adolescents are developmentally vulnerable. It establishes administrative sanctions, including fines of up to 10% of the company's revenue and service suspension, and restricts personalized advertising and algorithmic systems targeting minors. As the first major market to adopt a preventive harm-reduction ban, Brazil creates measurable regulatory benchmarks and a natural experiment to assess whether legislative boundaries reduce harm, influence industry monetisation strategies, and inform proportionate digital governance internationally.

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